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Use the fiduciary rule to jumpstart digital marketing

The Department of Labor's fiduciary rule isn't all bad news — it could provide a golden opportunity for your online marketing, no matter what happens.

There are four ways you can capitalize on the rule to position yourself as a client-focused adviser. Show your clients you can be there through any ups and downs — and gain new clients while you’re at it.

BLOG POSTSComing up with fresh and relevant blog content can be a struggle, but news surrounding the fiduciary rule provides you with a golden opportunity to create targeted content.

You can address the rule from many different angles by including content targeting potential clients and addressing specific niches. Consider tackling questions about how advisers can help, or what the fiduciary rule means for family portfolios or millennial money should it take effect.

Ultimately, blogs should aim to answer questions for both current and future clients. Because of the confusion surrounding fiduciary, your clients likely have questions. A blog post can help demystify some of those concerns, upping your marketing game at the same time.

SEO STRATEGIESWhile you might have a hard time bringing in search results for “DoL fiduciary rule,” it's likely you can rank for long-tail keywords like “DoL fiduciary rule advisers in Denver.”

To kickstart your SEO efforts, pick a long-tail keyword that includes either your location or your specific niche and set up a landing page that is optimized for that keyword. Fill the page with commonly asked questions you've fielded in your practice — especially from clients within your target market if you’ve chosen a niche.

Regardless of your keyword strategy, make sure to follow standard SEO best practices, such as using your keyword in header tags when it makes sense and in the URL as well.

UPDATE YOUR WEBSITEIf people find your advisory business through information about the fiduciary standard for retirement accounts on your blog or your landing page, they’ll expect to hear more about it throughout your website.

To create a cohesive user experience for current and future clients, update key pages on your site to include information about how your practice plans to comply with the changes brought on by the fiduciary rule.

The "about" and "services" pages are two places where it makes sense to emphasize your fiduciary status for retirement accounts. This is an opportunity to not only educate your current and potential clients, but reinforce the benefits they'll gain by working with you.

EMAIL MARKETINGMost advisers would agree that multiple client touch points per year make their clients feel better served. Frankly, most advisers just don’t have time to meet with every client every month.

That’s where email marketing comes in: It allows you to keep in close touch with your clients and offer them key information when they need it. Providing clients with additional information about the fiduciary rule is a good opportunity to strengthen your existing relationships.

You can prepare a series of informational emails similar to the blog posts you’ve written and send them out at regular intervals. For example, emails can focus on how the fiduciary rule may or may not impact their portfolio and what they can expect from you at every stage of this process.

If you’re able, you can invite clients to get in touch with you if they need any clarification in the email. Clients who take advantage of the opportunity will thank you for your increased availability and foresight in anticipating they may have questions.

At the end of the day, it remains to be seen whether the fiduciary rule will have a net positive or negative effect if and when it comes into effect. Beyond the fiduciary rule, any widely publicized issue can present itself as an opportunity for you to position your services as a response to your clients’ questions. Taking advantage of these marketing opportunities can help strengthen existing relationships and earn you new ones.